


IM the Night

by NachoSammich



Category: Bravoman - Fandom
Genre: Chatlogs, Gen, M/M, Online Friendship, Ship Tease, anti bravoman is a huge nerd and I love him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-03
Updated: 2014-03-03
Packaged: 2018-01-14 09:30:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1261393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NachoSammich/pseuds/NachoSammich
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anti-Bravoman learns the shocking truth of his internet buddy's true identity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	IM the Night

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this around Valentine's Day in response to a prompt my friend gave me. It was supposed to be a quick drabble but it turned into a 2,000 word MONSTER. Also I think this is the first-ever fic for Bravoman on AO3. excellent.
> 
> Please enjoy!

It had been another long day of dramatic brooding and angsty monologues, and Anti-Bravoman was more than ready to wind down. Logging onto his customized iBomb (the most evil PC on the market, now with extra darkness), he opened up his instant messenger of choice and scanned his paltry contacts list.

To his great joy, "GOGO_BRAVO88" was online - just the guy he wanted to see. They'd met on a Bravoman fan site about a month ago, gotten into a great discussion about the latest wave of Bravoman action figures, and had been corresponding via IM ever since. GOGO_BRAVO88 was possibly the closest thing that Anti had to a real friend. Besides Nega-Pigeon, anyway. He double-clicked on his name and settled in to chat.

> xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: hey  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: oh hey buddy!!!!! How you doing?  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: i'm good i guess. the world is dark and cruel and unforgiving, but i remain vigilant and stalwart, a mysterious figure of justice in a lawless world  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: Oh are we doing the rp thing again?  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: what  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: no i was just  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: nevermind  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: how are you doing?  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: i'm OK i guess  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: actually i kind of wanted to talk to you about something!  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: I probably should have told you a long time ago hahahaha but i wasn't really sure how you'd react

Anti blinked. Okay, that wasn't usually a good sign. Usually when people said things like that, they had some kind of terrible life-shattering news to impart, like that they're madly in love with your evil twin brother or that your long-dead father has really been alive all this time or that they're pregnant and you're the father. He really hoped his pen pal wasn't pregnant.

> xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: what is it?  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: well um  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: gee I'm not really sure how to say this!  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: but like  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: I maybe haven't been entirely honest with you?

There was a weird sinking feeling in Anti's chest. This was going nowhere good.

> xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: how so  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: well  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: you know how we met on that bravoman forum   
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: and I told you that I was a really big fan of bravoman and that I've been following him since the 80s and everything?  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: yeah  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: well i mean that's still kind of true but i   
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: kind of lied to you?  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: i'm not actually a fan.

Well  _that_  made no sense. GOGO_BRAVO88 was a  _huge_ Bravoman fan. He knew all of Bravoman's stats and could recite them by heart, and he owned the entire series of Beraboh Man on Blu-Ray, and he'd showed Anti a bunch of photos of his stacks upon stacks of Bravoman merch and there was  _absolutely no way_ he wasn't a hardcore Bravofan. It just wasn't possible.

> xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: what do you mean like  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: have you just been faking this stuff the whole time?  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: or are you actually a brave man fan and you just didn't want to tell me? because i'm cool with that  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: EW NO  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: i mean  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: no i am absolutely not a fan of that phony and i also wasn't faking? not really? i just haven't been totally honest with you  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: see  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: the truth is that I'm bravoman  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: like actually. in real life  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: for real  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: and i know you're not going to believe me so here

A window popped up, alerting him that user GOGO_BRAVO88 wanted to send file "crappyselfie.jpg." Anti clicked "OK," his heart pounding. He watched the loading bar fill slowly in fits and starts, ignoring the bloops from his messenger as GOGO_BRAVO88 rambled on. He couldn't look away from the chat, however, even as his eyes remained fixed on the loading bar.

> GOGO_BRAVO88: i know this is a really crummy way to tell you but i was starting to feel kind of guilty leading you on like that  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: I just went on that forum to anonymously chat with some fans and then we started talking and I thought it would be fun to just kind of  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: pretend I wasn't me for a while  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: but that feels dishonest to me and I know that you're a huge fan and I didn't want to keep lying to you  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: hahaha you probably think i'm a huge creep now i'm sorry

The file finished downloading with a quiet "bing," and Anti opened it up in his image viewer, clinging on to the hope that when the file finished loading it'd just be a photo of some desperate fan in a cruddy Bravoman cosplay or something. Because this couldn't be happening. This couldn't be real. 

The picture loaded and filled his screen, and Anti-Bravoman's entire life crashed around him.

It wasn't the best picture - kind of grainy, with that weird ghostly glow you always get when you take a webcam selfie without enough ambient light. Even with the funky light, it was clear that this was no cosplayer. Bravoman's teeth were bared in a wide, sheepish grin, his right hand held up in a peace sign. Looking closely, Anti could see the reflection of their chat window in his visor, and he could just make out the broad curve of the couch behind him. That was definitely Bravoman's couch. He knew that couch.

Oh god.

He'd been talking to  _Bravoman_  this  _whole time._

He'd told him all about his action figure collection and he'd gushed about how Bravoman and Anti-Bravoman were destined to be nemeses and they'd  _RPed together_  and he'd _told Bravoman_  about his  _fanfiction_  and he'd even  _showed him_ some of it _OH GOD HIS LIFE WAS OVER._

The chat was still blooping. He stared at it in vacant horror.

> GOGO_BRAVO88: you okay there buddy?  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: oh man you're probably really mad at me oh no  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: ...  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: that or you're passed out  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: you're not passed out are you  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: hello?  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: darklord?  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: ...im not passed out  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: oh good! you had me worried there for a second  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: hahaha  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: so um  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: you're not angry are you

Anti considered. No, he wasn't really angry. Freaked out and thoroughly humiliated and on the verge of a panic attack, yes, but not  _angry._

> xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: no  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: phew! that's good  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: i mean i'd hate to ruin our friendship over this  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: i think you're a cool kid! it's really nice to see someone so passionate about this stuff you know?  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: kind of an ego boost but it's also just neat that there are people like you who care this much  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: oh and that reminds me!  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: i hope you don't mind but I actually mentioned you to anti-bravoman last week

_WHAT._

> xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: WHAT  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: don't worry i didn't mention your username or anything!  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: I just told him that he had some really hardcore fans and he got really excited  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: you should be proud, I've never seen the guy so happy

Okay, yeah, he did remember that. He'd kind of let out a very dignified and brooding squeal and danced around a little. But...but if  _he_ was the fan that Bravoman had been talking about...

> xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: so does anti-bravoman have a huge fanbase or something?  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: because i haven't really met any other AB fans in this fandom  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: well you're the only anti-bravoman fan i know  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: but you're also the only fan i've really talked to! so I don't know  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: maybe you should start a fanclub or something! i bet he'd love that.  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: maybe  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: probably not though  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: well let me know if you do decide to start one, because i can help set it up if you want  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: might be able to recruit some people, who knows!  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: really??? you'd do that?  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: but he's your archnemesis!  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: y'know, he likes to say he is  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: but between you and me, i don't think he's really archnemesis material

Well  _that_ was just cold. What about all the dramatic battles they'd fought? ...Okay, yeah, they weren't really  _battles_  so much as Anti following him from the rooftops and monologuing to himself, but they had potential! They had solid grounds for a real potent rivalry! And what, all that just meant  _nothing_  to him? Had Bravoman even noticed him at  _all?_

Anti pushed his chair back from the desk, his mouse hovering over the logout button, but just as he was about to click it the chat blooped. And then blooped again. And again.

Slowly, he scooted his chair back in and squinted at his screen.

> GOGO_BRAVO88: this is probably going to sound silly, and you're probably not going to agree with me because I know how much you love the whole bravo rivalry thing  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: but if anything I think anti-bravoman is one of my best friends!  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: next to alpha, at least  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: out of all the people i hang out with on a regular basis he's one of the only ones who isn't constantly calling me doofus or ripping me off or trying to stab me  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: he's kind of a weird guy, sure, but i don't hate him or anything!  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: i mean yeah he definitely has the potential to be a threat  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: a BIG threat  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: and i should know  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: but honestly i don't think that's gonna happen in this timeline, and if it did  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: i think i'd be pretty sad  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: i like him better as a kind-of-friend than i would as an enemy

Anti stared at his screen, at a loss for words.

> GOGO_BRAVO88: haha sorry i didn't mean to rant at you!  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: i didn't bore you to sleep, did i?  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: hello? you check out on me again?  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: im still here  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: alright!  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: but i think i need to go to bed  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: aw  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: really?  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: yeah i have um  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: school   
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: in the morning i mean not right now  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: and my dad yells at me if i'm on the computer too late so  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: i should probably get off  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: awwww okay  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: wouldn't want you to get in trouble with your dad  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: yeah  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: goodnight kid!  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: and thanks for not freaking out too much, haha  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: yeah  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: um  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: thanks for telling me, i guess.  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: about who you are  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: no problem!  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: oh, and we can totally still RP and stuff in the future if you want  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: i mean i know i'm not very good at playing anti-bravoman, and you probably don't want to because you know it's me now, but it's really fun and i like doing it so  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: you know. if you want.  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: okay  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: yeah, maybe  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: great!  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: anyway, i'm gonna let you go  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: nice talking to you man!  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: thanks  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: you too  
>  GOGO_BRAVO88: night!  
>  xX-D4RkL0Rd99-Xx: goodnight

For a few long moments after logging out Anti just sat and stared at the screen, trying to process the entirety of the conversation, replaying lines and scraps of it in his head, waiting for it all to sink in. It didn't really, and now his head was whirling and he was all keyed up. There was no way he was getting any sleep right now.

He considered writing some fanfiction to calm down, but when he thought about his most recent WIP and the vicious battle-to-the-death he'd left off at the last time he worked on it, it made him cringe. Okay, maybe fanfiction wasn't the best idea right now. He needed to clear his head, and there was really only one way for a dark and brooding antihero to do that.

He stood up and pulled his scarf up a little higher around his face. Nega-Pigeon fluttered over to sit on his head as he walked over to his window and pried it open. With a deep breath, he stepped out into the night, leaving his room behind and bounding across the rooftops like a true creature of the dark. No destination in mind, just the usual midnight patrol. And this time it was actually  _mid_ _night._ Well, 10 PM. Close enough.

As he ran, with Nega-Pigeon keeping pace beside him, he thought about his fanfiction. Maybe he didn't need to end this one with another fight to the death. Maybe it would be one of those stories where the hero and the villain had to team up to fight some greater evil. Maybe after they joined forces, they'd realize that they worked better as a team than as enemies. He hadn't really explored that possibility in any of his other stories, and it might be kind of cool to try it out with this one.

Maybe, he thought as he came to rest at the top of a clock tower, the brightly-lit face of the clock behind him creating what was sure to be a  _really_   _cool_ silhouette, maybe he'd show that one to Bravoman when he was done with it. Maybe even in person.

For now, however, the night was cool and his scarf was flapping in the breeze and Nega-Pigeon was carving out slow, ominous circles in the air just above his head. For now, he was the antihero, the dark avenger, and for now that was good enough.


End file.
